The Nineteenth of February
by DeathlyMarshmallows
Summary: Five years after Gaston's death, the former town hero has been forgotten by the village and Le Fou feels like an outcast. He plots to murder Belle and her unborn baby to get revenge on the man who killed his best friend.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

On the night of February the eighteenth, fifty men left the quiet little town of Villemont in order to protect it from what they believed to be a fearsome, ravenous, child-eating beast. In the early hours of February the nineteenth, forty-nine men returned to the small provincial village, eagerly awaiting the return of the town's tavern owner, hunter, local legend, and the leader of their little uprising against the monster, Gaston Dubois. Hours turned into days before the residents began to seriously question the hunter's whereabouts. Many of the men who frequented the tavern (which had now been put temporarily out of business due to its proprietor's absence) entertained the idea of going back to the castle to find him, before remembering their own experiences with the palace, shuddering, and deciding that it was not worth it.

Little more than a week later, the town was awoken by the screams of a young woman who had noticed a large object that mysteriously appeared overnight several feet away from her front door when she came out early to empty her chamber pots. Upon further inspection she had discovered it to be a well-built, velvet lined coffin containing Gaston's mangled body along with a note explaining that he had fallen to his death while fighting the fearsome monster that occupied the castle, along with confirmation that the beast had indeed perished that night. Again, the villagers thought about going back to the castle to demand more of an explanation, but decided against it for their own safety.

It wasn't long until the little provincial village had a new hero. Before Gaston was even cold in the ground, another man appeared in town and took over the running of the tavern. A man who could drink ten steins of beer in one sitting and still spend the rest of the night dancing with the ladies who adored him. Guillaume was an instant hit with men, women and children alike. The town, mourning Gaston's death, had latched onto the handsome young man, and was soon worshipping him at his feet, just as they had done to Gaston just months before. Women wanted him. Men wanted to be him. Everyone loved him.

Everyone except one man. To Paul-Claude Le Fou, Gaston was more than just the local town legend. He was a god. He had been Le Fou's closest friend for most of his life. As a child, Le Fou had been relentlessly bullied for being short, dimwitted, and cowardly. Gaston, several years older and already the town's favourite guy, felt pity for the young boy and took Le Fou under his wing. From that moment on, the other townspeople began to respect him. As long as Le Fou was with Gaston, no one dared to make fun of him and Le Fou repaid him for this with total and utter blind devotion.

But now Gaston was long forgotten by the fickle townspeople. It seemed that as soon Guillaume arrived in Villemont, Gaston's spirit disappeared from the village almost immediately. Even the Baudelaire triplets, who had formerly swooned over Gaston and swore that he would their own one day, married nearly a year later to three handsome triplet brothers who owned a farm just outside the village and promptly forgot about the man who used to be at the centre of all their dreams. It was almost as if Gaston had never lived there at all.

* * *

><p>"Beers on the house tonight boys, for today is one of great significance!"<p>

Le Fou was suddenly jolted from his thoughts and lifted his head from the bar table where he had been lying in a stupor for the past half hour. He ignored the loud, drunken cheers that filled the tavern following this announcement and looked expectantly at the larger man. He hadn't expected Guillaume, of all people, to remember that today was the fifth anniversary of Gaston's death. He hadn't even been living in Villemont when Gaston had died.

"Oui, my friends, today is the twenty-sixth anniversary of the birth of the great Prince Étienne."

More cheers. Le Fou scowled and returned his head to the table. He should have known. Barely anyone in the village remembered Gaston. The mention of the prince did not improve his mood at all either. Everytime he heard that name, he felt a great amount of bitterness and resentment in his heart. Almost immediately after Gaston's death, the prince, whom all the land had presumed lost forever, mysteriously returned and announced his plans to marry one of the town's own, Belle Desrosiers who had freed him from a vicious beast that had been keeping him prisoner for nearly a decade. This announcement had made him very popular amongst the French people who believed that, through his choice of a peasant girl for a bride, they had a sense of camaraderie with him, as well as a feeling that he understood their plight, especially in comparison to the Versailles royals whose materialistic way of life was greatly scorned by the average Frenchman.

In spite of his name, Le Fou was not fooled. He knew Étienne was the one who had killed Gaston. The prince must have fallen in love with Belle, and, believing that Gaston was a threat, lured the unsuspecting hunter to his doom with a ridiculous conspiracy about a beast in a castle. Belle and the old man must have been in on the plan too. The events seemed to be too closely intertwined to be considered to be merely a coincidence.

Prince Étienne had been the one who had been responsible for Gaston's murder five years ago. He had stolen Gaston's life as well as his woman. Le Fou knew it and the thought that the prince was living happily and consequence-free with Belle in his castle made him sick. He wanted revenge.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

It seemed like the forest went on forever. Le Fou's feet ached from his long trek from the village. It had definitely not taken this long to reach the castle when Gaston and the rest of the villagers had attacked it five years ago. He groaned and stopped walking, looking around for a place to rest for a while. He spied a large rock nearby and began to walk over to it before a loud thunder clap put the thought out of his mind and made him decide to venture onwards. Hopefully he could get to the castle before it began to rain. Looking up and seeing the clouds darken in the sky, he began to regret his decision. Maybe he should just forget about his whole plan and leave Belle and her husband alone. Remembering Gaston's mangled, blood-covered body, Le Fou reluctantly decided to continue with his plan and put his doubt filled thoughts out of his mind.

* * *

><p>Since the attack on the mysterious castle five years previously, the quiet little town of Villemont had become no stranger to visits from the inhabitants of the home of Prince Étienne and his bride. The servants often came to buy food and other goods for the castle, as well to socialize with the townspeople they had formed friendships with, or just to spend the day there when they had some time off. Sometimes the prince and princess came along with them. They even came on their own on occasion. Although they had never really seen eye-to-eye, the princess would greet her former fellow denizens as if they were her old friends while her husband smiled and gazed at her proudly as he stood behind her..<p>

That summer, however, the visits from the servants became more rapid and increasingly bizarrely timed, while the prince and princess stopped coming to the village altogether. It wasn't unusual for Henri, the baker, to be woken at three in the morning by Prince Étienne's personal butler pleading for bread "for the mistress".

For the past five years, Le Fou had been living in a room above Guillaume's tavern where he had also been working. Le Fou did not like working for the man who had replaced Gaston in the town's affections, but it was the only way he could get by. It was not easy living with Guillaume. He stayed up entertaining the young women of the village until late into the night. In fact there had been many a morning where Le Fou had been jolted awake by the noise of one of Guillaume's lady friends. This had been one of those mornings. To get away from Brigitte's (or was it Suzette?) incessant moaning, Le Fou had gone out for a walk to clear his head early that morning. Walking through town that early in the day, he had been surprised to find the bakery already open. As he drew closer he noticed a tall dark blonde-haired man speaking to Marie, Henri the baker's daughter, with a strong Parisian accent. Le Fou recognised him as one of Prince Étienne's senior servants. Filled with morbid curiosity and with nothing else to do, he walked closer to the bakery and attempted to remain out of sight by hiding in the doorway of one of the neighbouring shops partly behind a potted plant.

"You have been buying a lot of Papa's bread lately, monsieur," Marie said as she counted out a large stack of coins.

"It is all the mistress can stomach right now," the man replied winking at her "We have people to bake for her at the castle, but she says that the only thing she wants right now is the bread that she ate when she lived here."

The man leaned on the table in a flirtatious manner, inadvertently knocking several coins off in the process. Marie giggled.

"So do you ever bake the bread?"

"_Oui,_ sometimes I do."

"You know, the master is very willing to hire new staff members. I'm sure if you asked him he would hire you. You could come and live in the castle and then we would not have to come all the way out here whenever the mistress is hungry!"

"Oh monsieur, that would be nice but I'm afraid Papa would never allow me."

"Lumiere!"

Their conversation was interrupted by rotund, red-haired man who walked briskly up to the bakery, not noticing Le Fou as he past him.

"Lumiere! You were meant to be buying baguettes and I find you here flirting with a girl! Need I remind you that you are a married man?"

"Mon ami, I was just having a bit of fun. It is not easy getting up this early in the morning."

"Marie, get back to work! Can I help you gentlemen?"

The baker had arrived with a tray of bread rolls in hand. He placed them down on the counter and turned to the two men.

"The usual bread for Belle - I mean - the princess?"

"_Oui_ monsieur."

"And please make it quick. We're very busy today."

"How is she?" Henri asked, piling baguettes into a basket.

"Who? The mistress? Right now she is well. Her illness has begun to subside, but she still can't eat anything but your bread. She won't eat any other kind. She won't touch any of the baguettes our bakers make for her." The red-haired man said, sounding rather annoyed about it.

"I am honoured to hear that she enjoys my bread so much," the baker replied, looking thoughtful. "She was always a bit shy when she lived here. She was a nice girl, very pretty. Just a bit strange. Never really interested in anything except for her books."

"Oh believe me she hasn't changed," the shorter of the two men said. "I cannot imagine how hard it will be to tear her away from her library to care for the baby when he arrives."

Le Fou took a moment to process this. Belle was having a child. This felt like a slap to the face of Gaston's already faded memory. He wondered if this was just some kind of God's sick joke.

He watched the prince's two servants climb into the royal carriage along with a full basket of baguettes and walked off lost in thought. He knew he was overreacting to this news. Belle and Étienne were married. They'd no doubt conceive a child at some point. It seemed unreasonable for Le Fou to care so much about it. But he felt as if Étienne had stolen Gaston's future. He was married to the woman that Gaston himself had died for, and now he was fulfilling Gaston's dream of having a family with Belle. It just didn't seem fair that Étienne and Belle were so happy, when Le Fou himself was so miserable because of what they had done.

It was at that moment that Le Fou had noticed that he had subconsciously walked out of the main village and into the graveyard of the village's church and was now standing at Gaston's grave. He looked down and stared at fancy marble gravestone. The townspeople had all chipped in to give Gaston a grand and expensive gravestone so that his greatness could live on in some respect. Now it was all that remained of him.

"Gee Gaston. I don't know. It seems like I'm the only one who still remembers you."

Looking around and seeing no one watching him, he continued to speak to gravestone.

"That guy just makes me feel so angry, you know. I wish there was some way I could get back at him."

_"Kill her."_

Le Fou whipped around. There wasn't anyone standing behind him. His heart raced. For a second he thought Gaston had risen from the dead. Calming down, he reasoned with himself. That was impossible. People could not come back to life, no matter how great they are. The voice rang out in his head again.

_"Kill her. Make him suffer."_

Was it Gaston's ghost haunting his subconscious? Or was it his own brain telling him what to do? Le Fou groaned, his head aching. He definitely had too much to drink last night. He thought about what the mysterious voice in his head was telling him to do. Was it really trying to tell him to kill Belle and her unborn child to make Étienne feel the same pain he felt when Gaston died? Le Fou had to admit, it did seem harsh, but then the prince _had_ taken Gaston's life, stolen his woman and was now living out his dreams in seemingly blissful harmony while Le Fou suffered. He needed to be punished and Le Fou had been trying to find a way to do just that for years and now an opportunity had presented itself.

"Okay Gaston. I'll do it. I-"

What he was about to say made him hate himself more than he had ever before

"I'll-I'll kill her."

But how? He couldn't just walk into the castle and murder the princess. He'd have to be careful and underhanded. Remembering something one of the prince's servants had said, an idea struck him. He looked back to Gaston's grave and tried to smile.

"Don't worry Gaston. You and Belle will be together soon, just like you've always wanted."

* * *

><p>Seeing the castle's large foreboding stone walls finally come into sight, Le Fou breathed a sigh of relief. After he had left the cemetery, he immediately went back to the tavern, informed Guillaume of his resignation, proceeded to his room to pack up his meager belongings and headed out on his journey to the castle, eager to get started on his plan. It was an exhaustive journey, taking far longer than Le Fou had expected.<p>

He heard another peal of thunder. Just as he reached the castle gates heavy rain began pouring down. Le Fou ran desperately through the castle gates, across the bridge over the ravine and pounded on the castle's enormous wooden doors. After a few moments, the door was opened by the same rotund red-haired man he had seen in the village that morning. He seemed to recognise Le Fou, even though he had been sure that the man had not seen him when he had been eavesdropping on their conversation that day.

"May I help you, sir?" He said, looking down at Le Fou.

"Oh. Err. Yes. M-m-may I please speak to the prince?" Le Fou stuttered nervously.

The man frowned.

"Why do wish to speak to the master?"

"Well I- "

"Cogsworth! Is someone at the door?"

The other man who had been in the village today appeared.

"This man wants to speak to the master."

"Then take him to the master."

"I can't just let anyone speak to the master, Lumiere. Besides he's busy."

"He's only in the library. Remember the last time we wouldn't let someone in from the cold Cogsworth?"

"Lumiere, I highly doubt that this man is here to do _that_."

Lumiere ignored him. He turned to Le Fou.

"I'll take you to the master, monsieur. Follow me."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Cardenio heard these words clearly and distinctly, being quite close to the speaker, for there was only the door of Don Quixote's room between them, and the instant he did so, uttering a loud exclamation he cried, "Good God! What is this I hear? What voice is this that has reached my ears?"

Prince Étienne sighed contentedly. There was no greater pleasure in this world than listening to his wife read to him with that beautiful lilting voice of hers. Five years of marriage had done nothing to fade his passion for Belle. It seemed like only last week that she had confessed her love for him as he lay dying and changed him from beast to man, returning him to his true form. They had married little more than a month later in a lavish ceremony officiated by the priest in Belle's village. He and Belle had lived together in a blissful state for years. That's not to say they didn't have their arguments. They'd had plenty of those, mostly about his temper and her fixation with books. Étienne appreciated and respected her passion and loved to read with her but often thought that maybe she was spending too much time in the library and not enough time with him. There had been many a late night where he had tried to tear away the book from Belle's hands, almost begging her to come to bed with him. She would bat him away and yawningly respond "Just one more chapter". Two hours later he would return to find her fast asleep, her head resting in the middle of the book, softly snoring. Étienne would sigh in annoyance, pick her up, and carry her to their bedroom, desperately trying not to laugh when he noticed words imprinted onto her forehead.

Although he would never admit it, he secretly believed that the ten years he spent as the Beast was worth it. It had changed him from an ill-tempered, spiteful, and materialistic boy into a calm (well, calmer) and loving man and had given him the love of his life. Belle was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him. It was hard to comprehend his life without her. He still feared that he would lose her unexpectedly. He often worried that Belle would become upset that he was not as romantic and handsome as the Prince Charmings that lived in her storybooks and would eventually get sick of him and then leave him for her own impossibly romantic man. Whenever he expressed these doubts to Belle, she would laugh and reassure him that he was the only man she could ever love. But the thought that he could suddenly lose her never left him. Whenever she would climb up a ladder to get a book from the top shelf in the library, he would wait below with bated breath, entertaining horrible thoughts of her slipping and falling to her death below. Some nights Étienne would awake from a nightmare he had where Belle had fallen off her horse and died from her injuries, or that she had gone to bathe in the nearby lake and drowned. When he woke up from these nightmares, he would often lie in bed for hours listening to her breathe, getting miniature heart-attacks whenever he could not hear her for more than a few seconds.

Now he and Belle were finally having a child. Belle had been reluctant to have a baby early in their marriage. She had felt unready and wanted to finally fulfil her childhood dream of adventure. Together they had travelled all over Europe. Belle had wanted to go further than that, but Étienne was too terrified of catching a mysterious foreign illness so she had to make do with just travelling throughout Europe. Belle had loved seeing the places she had previously only read about in her books and interacting with the locals of the various towns they went to, particularly when they had visited her mother's homeland of Italy. Étienne, however, felt uncomfortable being so far from his home having spent ten years trapped inside the castle walls. It was a massive culture shock for him to be outside in unfamiliar surroundings with so many people he didn't know. Of course he didn't tell Belle this. He didn't want to spoil her fun after she had done so much for him. This was why Étienne, as well as Cogsworth, who had been pestering the prince and princess about a lack of an heir since they were first married, and Maurice, who just wanted a grandchild, felt relieved when Mrs Potts realized why Belle had been gaining weight, feeling sick and crying uncontrollably over insignificant little things recently. Belle had felt slightly disappointed, however. She had enjoyed their adventures so much that she would have preferred to put parenthood off for several more years, but had soon warmed up to the idea, especially after she entertained fantasies of reading the same bedtime stories to her child that her mother had told her when she was a little girl. Personally Étienne was surprised that it had taken this long for Belle to become pregnant. There had certainly been no lack of passion between them. He had wondered previously if the enchantment had caused him to not be able to father a baby, but now that was obviously not the case.

Truth be told, Étienne was nervous about his impending fatherhood. His own mother and father had died when he was very young and the memories he did have of them were foggy. He had been raised by his servants. How could he be a parent when he had never known his own? He didn't know how to care for a baby. Since his parents had died young he had never had any siblings. The only babies he had ever come into contact with were the children of the servants. He remembered them being loud and slobbery little balls of flesh whenever he saw them as a young child. But as an adult, whenever he thought about his and Belle's baby, he imagined an adorable bundle of happiness with Belle's eyes, hair, nose, and personality. He had to admit, most of his excitement stemmed from the prospect of getting a second Belle. The first one was not nearly enough for him. Even though he was completely clueless about them, Étienne couldn't wait for his baby to get here. Especially since Belle's pregnancy symptoms were making her… well… very un-Belle-like.

Belle now refused to eat anything but the bread made in the bakery in her old village. Anything else made her sick. Étienne had tried the bread himself. He agreed that it was good, but he couldn't taste much of a difference between it and the bread his own bakers made, but who was he to deny the mother of his child her bread? The worst part of it all were the mood swings. At times Belle seemed to be extremely irritable one minute and joyously happy the next. Thanks to Belle's condition, Étienne now understood what it was like to be on the receiving end of a temper tantrum. The first time it had happened he vowed never to yell at any of his servants again. Of course, this vow was soon forgotten. Belle would cry at the most elementary things whether it was a sad part of a book or even just when one of Chip's toys broke. Whenever she started to get upset, he would take her into his arms and she would cry into his shoulder while he patted her back and spoke comforting words into her ear.

"Étienne? Are you even listening to me."

Étienne snapped out of his thoughts.

"Uh…"

"Étienne, I'm not going to read to you if you're not going to listen to me," she said, sounding offended and closing _Don Quixote_.

"Oh no, Belle! I was listening. I just got distracted. I love listening to you read to me."

Étienne took Belle by the hand and gazed into her enormous hazel doe eyes which were sparkling like little amber stones.

"Please darling, keep going!"

She looked back at him, smiled, and picked the book up again. Étienne breathed in a sigh of relief and smiled to himself. Looking directly into Belle's eyes always calmed her down when she was angry with him. This little trick had become especially useful lately.

"The curate at once hastened-"

There was a knock at the door. Belle's joyful expression changed to an annoyed one. She hated being interrupted while she read. Étienne had learned that the hard way. He called for the person to come in. The huge wooden doors opened and Lumiere entered.

"Master, I am sorry to bother you."

Étienne was surprised to see Lumiere. Usually he and Belle were not called to dinner until around seven.

"Lumiere? Is it time to dine already."

"No, your Highness. Not quite yet, but this man wants to speak to you."

He gestured behind him. Étienne looked down to see a short, unattractive little man standing sheepishly behind Lumiere. He heard Belle groan.

"Oh no! What are you doing here?"

Étienne was surprised. With child or not, It wasn't like Belle to be so uncharacteristically rude and express her displeasure the moment she saw someone. He turned to her.

"Belle? Is there anything wrong?"

"Le Fou," she said bitterly, pointing to the little man, "was Gaston's closest friend and devoted lackey."

"Gaston?"

He vaguely remembered the name from somewhere.

"He was the man who wanted to marry me, remember?"

Oh. That Gaston. The man who had burst into his castle and tried to kill him. Le Fou spoke up.

"I-I'm sorry your Highness. I was part of the mob who attacked the castle years ago. When we were coming after the beast to... err… protect the village y'know?"

Étienne's rage began building inside of him. He felt ready to throw this strange little man into the dungeon where he belonged. Belle, who always seemed to know when he was getting angry, reached out and touched his hand to calm him. He composed himself. Not wanting to be rude and risk getting in trouble with Belle, he reluctantly invited Le Fou to sit at the table opposite them and asked him what he wanted to talk to them about.

Le Fou told them that he was there to apologise for what he had done. He went on to explain that no one in his village seemed to remember Gaston. He had been replaced in the townspeople's affections by a man who sounded like he was a carbon copy of the original Gaston. Le Fou now felt like an outcast in the village. No one seemed to notice him anymore now that he was no longer at Gaston's side at every moment. Étienne heard Belle sniffle when he got to the part about being out casted. Oh no! Not again! Why now? This was the best friend of the man who had, amongst other things, tried to kill him. How could she be so upset at this? He didn't even know why Le Fou was telling them this story. What was he trying to accomplish? What were his intentions?

"And so… I thought… m-m-maybe." Le Fou began to stutter nervously, "I could come to work for you in the castle, I mean, I have no purpose in the village anymore."

Étienne stared at him incredulously. This man had the nerve to ask him for employment?

"Work? In my castle?"

"Well… yes."

"After all you've done to-"

"Of course you can!"

Étienne looked at Belle in disbelief. Did she really just say what he thought she'd said?

"Belle? Belle, this is my castle and you just can't-"

Belle ignored him and turned to Lumiere who had been in the room the entire time, pretending to casually browse the shelves while eavesdropping.

"Lumiere?"

"Oui, your Highness?"

"Please show Monsieur Le Fou to the servants quarters. Le Fou, we'll find something for you to do. We've got a lot of jobs open these days due to… recent events."

Belle touched her slightly rounded stomach fondly. Lumiere motioned for Le Fou to follow him.

"Now where we?"

Belle turned back to the book.

"Ah yes. The curate at once hastened to uncover her face-"

"Belle," Étienne interrupted her, "Belle, why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You know. Tell that man that we would employ him. "

"I felt sorry for him. It is not easy being an outcast. "

"But he helped to lead an angry mob that was trying to kill me!"

"Oh Étienne. You should know better than anyone that people change."

Belle sighed and continued reading.

"The curate at once hastened to uncover her face and throw water on it."

Étienne buried his head in his hands. There were still just over six months to go and already Belle's emotions were out of control. How had he let himself become this weak over the years?

* * *

><p>Lumiere led Le Fou towards the servants' quarters. The castle was a lot less intimidating than Le Fou had remembered it being. When he was last there, it had been decorated with garish gargoyles and portraits of unhappy-looking nobles. Now the stone walls were lined with cherubs and happy family portraits. Servants rushed past them looking very busy and carrying various items such as tableware, fabrics, and candles. They passed the staircase in the foyer and Lumiere lead him down a long corridor of doors and stopped at one at the end. He opened the door and he and Le Fou stepped inside.<p>

The room was small and clean but sparsely decorated. There was a small made-up bed by the window that looked out over the ravine where Gaston had fallen to his death, a chest of draws in one corner, a desk in the other. Lumiere picked up a candelabrum that had been sitting and it lit up instantaneously.

"This will be your room. I am afraid you have missed the servants' dinnertime, but if you're hungry the kitchen is at the end of the hall. We will inform you tomorrow of where you will be working tomorrow. Breakfast is at seven tomorrow morning."

He took one last look at Le Fou, who was gaping at the candelabrum and trying to work out how Lumiere had managed to light it without matches, and left.

Tearing himself away from the candlestick, he began unpack his meagre belongings from the satchel he had carelessly stuffed them into when he left the tavern and put them away into the chest of drawers and thought about his plans. He would have to wait for the right moment before he could strike. He would have to get Belle while she was alone, vulnerable, and unguarded. The right moment could not come along for months. Le Fou had noticed Belle's stomach still seemed quite flat, although it was now much curvier than it had been before. From the information he had gathered when he had occasionally eavesdropped on conversations between wives from the village, this meant that he had a little over six months to be able to carry out his plot before she entered her confinement.

When he finally finished unpacking he sat down on the bed to reflect. How had he gotten to this point? Killing an expectant mother was one of the worst crimes he could possibly imagine. Sure Étienne and Belle had caused Gaston to die, but their baby hadn't done anything wrong. Perhaps he should wait until after it was born. He thought of the way Belle had smiled at him, her angelic hazel eyes full of innocence and trust, and felt terrible about what he was planning on doing to her.

The memories of hearing Gaston's voice came back to him and he reminded himself that he had come this far, he must go through with his plan. This was the only way he would ever achieve peace within himself. This was the only way he could avenge Gaston's death. This was the only way he could make Étienne feel the same pain Le Fou had experienced when Gaston had died.

His stomach rumbled and he suddenly remembered how hungry he was.

* * *

><p>Lumiere re-joined Cogsworth in the kitchen where he was bossing around the kitchen staff who were busily preparing dinner for Belle and Étienne. Cogsworth quickly took him outside through the dining room, and onto the balcony. After checking that no one was listening, he turned to Lumiere.<p>

"Well Lumiere, what did that man speak to the master about?"

"Cogaworth you really should relax, he just wanted to apologise to the master for attacking the castle five years ago."

"I knew I recognised him! Don't you remember him? He was the one who tried to melt you! That was before I stabbed him in the…"

Cogsworth chuckled to himself. That had been one of his proudest moments. Lumiere frowned at the unpleasant memory. Composing himself, Cogsworth continued.

"How did the master react?"

"The master did not seem happy to see him. Neither did Belle at first actually."

"Do you know why he came to apologize?"

"You can ask him yourself tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? What?"

"He's going to work here now. I just showed him to his room."

"What? Why?"

"The master didn't want to employ him. But the mistress felt sorry for him after he told her his life story. I guess he just wants to make amends for what he did."

Cogsworth looked unsure.

"I don't trust that man Lumiere. He's up to something. I don't what it is, but I'm sure of it. "


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

As the hot summer months came to an end and the castle's luscious green lawns began to be covered in a thick layer of yellow and orange leaves, Le Fou found himself vastly enjoying life in the castle. In fact he enjoyed living there far more than he had ever enjoyed living in the village. It was a simple yet fulfilling life.

Each day he would wake at six o'clock and have breakfast with the other servants. Waking up early each day was not a problem for Le Fou. He had woken up before dawn every day for almost all of his life to go hunting with Gaston.

At the castle, mealtimes were an experience unmatched by any other. The food, even the cuisine that the servants consumed, was some of the best in France. Many of the best chefs in all of Europe had been brought to work at the castle.

After breakfast he would start work on his duties. Le Fou had been assigned to work in the stables, looking after the Prince's many horses. He excelled at this job. Le Fou had been in charge of caring for so many of Gaston's hunting horses over the years that the job was now second nature to him.

After his work was finished and dinner had been served, he would socialize with other servants, particularly with his new friends Armand, Pierrot, and Luc.

Armand worked in the stables with Le Fou. He was very handsome, with wavy light blonde hair, baby blue eyes and an Adonis-like body. His good looks made him very popular with the female portion of the serving staff. He seemed had a new girlfriend and fresh slap mark every few weeks. He reminded Le Fou of Gaston in many ways. However, despite all his faults concerning women, he truly was an honourable man who was proud to serve his prince and princess.

Like Armand, Pierrot also worked in the stables with Le Fou. However, in contrast to Armand, Pierrot was short and stocky with dark matted hair and an olive complexion. He was a cunning and shady little man with a penchant for gambling and always seemed to have some new scheme to get money from unsuspecting people. He was already holding bets on the gender of Belle and Étienne's baby.

Luc, however, did not work in the stables with them. In fact he had the most dreaded job of all. He was one of the castle's chamber pot cleaners. He was very thin and sickly looking. Because of his weak physique, he had been "adopted" by Armand and Pierrot to protect him.

The three of them, like many other servants in the castle, had been hired five years ago, when the castle had undergone a large turnover of staff, right around the time the Beast had been killed and the Prince had made his reappearance. At the time, many of the staff who had worked under the Beast's reign had fled the castle as soon their freedom was assured.

As the end of October neared, Le Fou had still not found the right moment to act on his plan. The Prince was very protective of his wife and unborn child. Belle was never left alone. If she wasn't with her husband, she would be with one of the more senior members of the serving staff, or with her father, or reading to one of the servant children. It was impossible to strike when she was surrounded by people all the time.

* * *

><p>"Cinderella, who saw all this, and knew that it was her slipper, said to them, laughing, "Let me see if it will not fit me."<p>

Belle laid her book down and touched her burning forehead. She had woken up that morning with a slight headache which had escalated over the course of the day. Her head now throbbed with immense pain. Chip, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her, frowned.

"Belle?"

Belle smiled weakly at him.

"I'm sorry, Chip. I don't think I can continue. I do not feel very well today."

"Oh... But we're almost finished!"

Belle sighed wearily. Unlike her husband, whose thoughts were apt to wander when she read to him, Chip became thoroughly engrossed in the books she read to him and would become annoyed if a story was interrupted for whatever reason.

"I must have read this story to you a hundred times. You know the ending. The shoe fits. Cinderella marries her prince. They live happily ever after."

"I know, but… "

Chip fiddled nervously with the buttons on his shirt.

"But what?"

"I like hearing _you _read to me."

Belle smiled knowingly. In the last year or so, Chip had developed a small crush on her. She hadn't actually noticed it until Étienne had told her. The fair princess was not the most observant of people. Belle found his slight infatuation with her to be adorable. Unfortunately Étienne hadn't seen it the same way. Personally she found the thought of a twenty-six year old prince being jealous of an eleven year old servant boy to be laughable.

"I am sorry, Chip. If I feel better, I'll read to you tomorrow. Why don't you go play?"

"Oh… Okay."

Chip, with a defeated look in his eye, reluctantly left the library. Belle picked up the book and rose from where she was seated. She walked across the length of the immense library and placed the book of Charles Perrault's fairy tales back on its shelf. The light streaming in from outside caught her eye. She walked over to the large window and looked out longingly.

Large piles of autumn leaves covered the castle's extensive grounds. Belle smiled as her head was filled with memories of her youth, when she would play and frolic in the piles of orange leaves that would form around her house in the village she lived in as a child.

She looked down at her protruding stomach. Now those days were long gone. Belle had been forbidden from doing any form of strenuous activity. She wasn't even allowed to leave the castle.

In recent weeks, Étienne had grown increasingly paranoid about Belle's condition. He wouldn't let her go outside alone. Belle was flattered by her husband's overprotectiveness, but it was becoming such an inconvenience! She wished he would realize that cooping her up inside all the time was _not _the answer. It was like she was being held prisoner once again. The only difference was that her captor was now a handsome prince and not a large and fearsome chimera. But at least she could go outside last time.

Étienne had been called away to visit a friend, a nobleman who lived in Rennes. Before he had left he had expressly forbidden Belle from going outside under any circumstance. Belle really doubted that anything could happen to her in the castle gardens, but Étienne was terrified she would be kidnapped, or would have a tree fall on her, or be involved in some other unlikely scenario.

Belle thought of her old horse Philippe. She had not been allowed to ride him for months. The poor thing was probably so lonely. And she wasn't even able to visit him. It wasn't fair. She slumped back into her chair.

As she morosely stroked her stomach, an idea suddenly struck the princess. What her husband didn't know wouldn't hurt him. A rare mischievous grin appeared on Belle's face. Étienne would nit be back until tomorrow. Visiting Philippe would only take half an hour or so. Being out in the fresh air would probably make her head feel better too.

The baby suddenly kicked, almost as if it was urging her on. Filled with confidence, she stood back up and strode out the library as quickly as she could which, in her condition, was not very fast at all. Maids curtsied to her as she passed.

* * *

><p>Lucie whinnied jofully as Le Fou brushed her thin white fur. The graceful Arabian had become one of his favourites over the last few weeks. He started to brush her tail as he listened to Armand talk about his troubles with his latest girlfriend, Arlette. Luc, who had a day off from his usual duties, brushed her mane.<p>

"Arlette is convinced that I spent all of last night in the broom closet on the third floor kissing Faustine, the kitchen maid. She hasn't spoken to me all morning."

Pierrot, who often grew tired of hearing about Armand's exploits, groaned.

"Well did you?"

"Of course not!"

Armand grinned.

"It was the second floor broom closet. And I wasn't just- Oh, good morning, princess."

Le Fou looked up alarmed just as Belle entered the stables. He quickly jumped off the stool he was standing on and hid in the darkest part of the stables he could find. The last thing he wanted was to have an awkward encounter with her today. Belle smiled at Armand.

"Hello Armand. Oh and Pierrot and Luc."

Luc blushed at the mention of his name. Belle went over to her old horse, Philippe and hugged his nose. Philippe neighed gleefully as he saw her approach.

"Hello Philippe! Oh, I've missed you so much. I'm sorry I haven't been to see- Oh Le Fou! What are you doing hiding in the shadows? I haven't spoken to you since you came here. How are you settling into the castle?"

Since arriving at the castle, Le Fou had been struck by how Belle and Étienne treated their servants with respect. Especially Belle, who made an effort to remember each of their names. This had made the young princess amost universally beloved by the servants at the castle.

"Fine," he muttered quietly.

She smiled at him, her hazel eyes shining brightly at him. Le Fou felt a twinge of guilt.

"That's good."

She touched her forehead and groaned as if her head was hurting. Noticing this, Pierrot spoke up.

"Err, princess? Are you okay? You're lookin' kind of pale."

Belle did indeed look much paler than usual.

"Oh no. I am fine. I just have a small head ache."

Belle stood with Philippe for several more minutes. She did not seem very healthy. Armand moved forward

"Mistress, you really do not look very well. Do you want-"

Armand stopped midsentence as Belle suddenly fell forward in a faint. Armand caught her before she hit the ground.

"I'm gonna take her back to the castle. You two keep workin'."

Le Fou watched as Armand carried the princess out of the stables, across the garden, and up the castle's stone steps.

* * *

><p>"Chip! I thought Belle was going to read to you."<p>

Mrs Potts had found her son playing on the stairs in the main entrance hall of the castle. Chip looked up at his mother and shrugged.

"She was, but she said she felt sick."

"Oh? I hope it's nothing serious. Well it's time for you to do your chores anyway."

"But Mama!"

"I don't want to hear any complaints. Come along, Chip."

Mrs Potts reached out and grabbed his hand and began to lead him off towards the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Armand appear in the doorway carrying an unconcious Belle. She rushed over to him.

"Oh Belle! Oh dear! What happened?"

"She was in the stables with us when she jus' fainted, ma'am. She didn't look very good before it happened though."

"Come with me. Chip, get the doctor."

Mrs Potts lead Armand up to the West Wing. Over the years the West Wing had changed from a place where a monster could find solitude and relieve his beastly urges to home befit for a young married couple, complete with a room decorated in pastel blue and white for their impending arrival. Armand laid Belle down on the bed and retreated. Mrs Potts hurried to her side. Belle looked up at Mrs Potts groggily.

Mrs Potts lead Armand through the castle to the West Wing, a place where very few of the "lesser" servants ever had the chance to go to. Five years ago it was in shambles. It was a place a monster could go to find solitude and relieve his beastly urges. It was now a pleasant home befit for a young married couple, now complete with a nursery decorated in pastel blue and white for their impending offspring.

Armand laid Belle down on the bed. Mrs Potts hurried to her side. Belle opened her eyes groggily.

"What happened?"

"Oh Belle, dear, you fainted."

"Oh," Belle replied weakly.

"Mama!"

Chip had returned with the castle's physician.

"Oh, that was fast. Thank goodness. Chip, go do your chores."

Chip grumbled and left the room. After touching Belle's forehead and poking and prodding her stomach a few times, the doctor determined that Belle and her baby were both fine, but still put her on temporary bedrest for the next few days. Mrs Potts, however, wasn't convinced and made a mental note to have Cogsworth inspect the "doctor's" credentials when he returned with the Prince the next day.

* * *

><p>Le Fou ran his finger across the blade of Gaston's old dagger. The knife had been in Gaston's coffin when his body had been returned to the village. He had taken it before Gaston was buried, swearing to use it to get revenge one day.<p>

The news that Belle had fainted had spread amongst the castle staff like a plague in a small village. He had heard from Armand that Belle had been put on temporary bed rest for several days.

Since Étienne was away, this would be the perfect time for Le Fou to strike. Belle would be alone and vulnerable. There would be no one protecting her.

He stood in his room for a moment, contemplating his plan, before finally working up the courage to leave. He tiptoed as quietly as he could through the castle. It was late at night so most of the castle would be asleep. The castle appeared so much more foreboding at night. He wondered if the stairs just creaked more at night or if he had just never noticed it before. Portraits of Prince Étienne's ancestors now seemed to look down on him in disgust. The cherubs that were part castle's decor now seemed like cruel angels of death.

He finally reached the door of Belle and Étienne's bedroom. He put his ear to the door and heard soft snoring sounds. Belle was definitely asleep. He pushed open the large wooden doors as quietly as he could.

Le Fou stood for a moment, taking in the sight before him. Belle lay sleeping peacefully in the large four-poster bed, her hand placed protectively over her stomach, with a contented smile spread across her pretty face. She was so beautiful. Beauty, whether it was Belle's or his own, had always been Gaston's one weakness, and had ultimately lead to his downfall.

_"She looks so beautiful. It's a shame she has to die."_

Le Fou froze. It was Gaston's voice in his head again.

_"Go on! Kill her!"_

Le Fou stood rooted on the spot.

_"She's so beautiful. But so was I."_

Le Fou took a deep breath and slowly moved towards Belle until he was at her side.

_"Now!"_

He raised his knife and prepared to strike her chest. He took another breath and-

"Belle!"

Loud yells and footsteps filled the hallway outside. Le Fou desperately looked around for a place to hide.

* * *

><p>Belle was jolted from her peaceful slumber by a loud crash. She looked up to see her husband standing in the doorway, looking wild-eyed and anxious. Mrs Potts came scurrying in moments later.<p>

"Belle!"

"Oh for heaven's sake, master! Don't be so loud. She's sleeping."

Belle sat up.

"I'm not anymore," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes wearily, "Étienne, what are you doing here? You weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow."

Étienne rushed to her side.

"We finished up early. I only just got back. Mrs Potts told me you collapsed in the stables."

"Well, yes," she admitted, "My head hurt and I felt so cooped up in the castle. So I went outside to see-"

"I told you not to go outside!"

"Étienne, I'm not going to die by going outside."

"You almost did!"

"I fainted. That's hardly dying. And it probably would have happened inside anyway."

Étienne took her hand and looked deep into eyes.

"Oh Belle, I'm just so afraid of losing you."

She stroked his hand lovingly.

"Oh darling, I would never leave you. Not again anyway. I promise we'll always be together. Just the two of us-three," she corrected herself.

The prince seemed to be comforted by these words.

"That reminds me! I have to tell you something. That can wait though. Do you need anything? Are you cold? Do you need another blanket."

"Well, I am a little hungry."

"I'll send something up," Mrs Potts said, turning to leave.

"No! I can go down and get it myself," Belle insisted. She threw off her blankets and got up.

"No, Belle! Get back in bed. You're too weak."

"I'm fine. Where are my shoes, Mrs Potts? Oh well. I'll just go barefoot."

Étienne started to protest, but Belle wasn't listening. He gave up and followed her out.

Le Fou cautiously looked poked his head through the window and surveyed the room. He climbed back in, walked over, and put his ear to the door. He waited for the sound of footsteps to disappear. He opened the door and attempted to walk back to his room as nonchalantly as possible.

As he walked back down the stairs into the main entrance hall, he noticed Cogsworth headed to the kitchen, followed by a woman he had never seen before. Luckily he seemed busy talking to the woman and did not notice Le Fou coming back from a place he should not have been. Le Fou headed back to his room and got into bed. As he drifted off to sleep he cursed himself for hesitating and not killing Belle while he had the chance. Gaston would be so disappointed in him.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_Le Fou raised his knife and prepared to strike Belle's chest. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Putting all doubts out of his mind, he quickly lowered the knife forcefully until he felt it hit her skin. After waiting for several moments, he hesitantly opened his eyes._

_The knife had made a deep wound in her skin. A small amount of blood trickled out. Belle's eyes suddenly flew open. She focused on Le Fou for a moment and began to gasp for air. Le Fou watched as her skin turned from her usual milky white to a deathly pallor. Belle stiffened suddenly, her eyes remained open and focused on Le Fou._

_The blood was now pouring from the wound in her chest. It stained the formerly pale white sheets a deep red._

_"Belle!"_

_Prince Étienne had appeared on the other side of his wife's bed. He took Belle's hand. The blood was now spurting out of her like a fountain. Tears began flowing from his eyes, almost as quickly as the blood was spurting from Belle's chest. Le Fou was too distracted to watch the scene, however, as the blood had begun doing something peculiar. It was moving!_

_Not just moving. It was taking the shape of person! Le Fou watched, amazed, as the muscular figure formed in front of his eyes. It was Gaston!_

_Gaston grinned sinisterly as he snatched the knife from Le Fou's hand. He ripped open Belle's nightgown and cut open Belle's enormous stomach. Her dead eyes remained transfixed on Le Fou. From inside, he retrieved a tiny howling baby from inside. Gaston laughed menacingly as he lifted the knife towards the infant's throat._

* * *

><p>Le Fou awoke to find the sun streaming in through his small window. He yawned and casually looked at the clock that sat on the desk in the corner.<p>

Fourteen past nine.

"Oh nuts!"

Le Fou leapt out of bed and threw on the first clothes he could find. When he had gotten back to his room, after his plan had been thwarted last night, he had laid in bed for hours thinking about what he had almost done before finally getting to sleep in the early hours of the morning.

Not even bothering to properly put on his shoes, Le Fou rushed out of his room, and down the long corridor, before he heard voice of the last person he wanted to see that day.

"Étienne, please let go of me, I'm not made of glass."

Spying a broom closet nearby, he grasped the handle and pulled, desperately hoping that Armand and his latest lady friend were not currently occupying it. He closed just in time, as Belle and the Prince rounded the corner just a few moments later.

"Belle, considering what happened yesterday, you're obviously not in the best physical condition."

Belle moaned out of exasperation.

"Ugh! Darling, I just felt ill yesterday. I feel perfectly fine right now. I just needed some sleep. It is very hard to get comfortable these days."

Étienne reluctantly dropped the subject. However, there had been something that had been preying on Étienne's mind these last few weeks.

"Belle, you do want to have a child with me, don't you?"

Belle looked at husband in surprise.

"Of course I do!"

"You don't seem very excited about it."

"It is hard to be excited about something when it is with you everywhere you go. And well…"

Belle paused, wondering how to phrase what she was about to say.

"The idea of being just a wife and mother always used to disgust me. Although, I have to admit, most of that disgust stemmed from the interactions I would have with Gaston."

Le Fou's ears perked at the mention of Gaston.

"Belle, he's dead now."

"Gaston would accost me in the middle of village and he would talk about how wonderful it would be when we were married and I would rub his feet, cook his dinner, and bear his dozens of children."

Belle shuddered at the thought of being touched by the late hunter.

"Belle, I'm not going to force you to rub my feet, and I'm certainly not going to make you cook my dinner," Étienne's stomach began to churn as he thought of the last time his wife had tried to cook for him, "and I definitely do not think we will be having dozens of children. One is enough. For now, at least."

Belle considered this and smiled.

"Well… Maybe two would be nice. Certainly no more than three though. Gaston wanted six or seven. Ugh! Can you imagine? The last thing the world needs is seven little Gastons running around." Belle shuddered at the thought.

Inside the broom closet, Le Fou fumed. How dare they insult Gaston like this when he had lost his life trying to save the village from a horrible beast. Belle should be honoured that a man like Gaston even looked twice at her.

Le Fou put his ear to the door and heard fading footsteps. Thankfully it sounded like Belle and Étienne were leaving. He waited until he could no longer hear them before exiting the small, cramped broom closet.

He began to run again, his mind fraught with worry about how late he was. Unfortunately, he was so pre-occupied with his thoughts that he barely noticed what was in front of him.

Smack! Le Fou collided with someone's legs. He looked up to see the very irritated face of Prince Étienne glaring back down at him.

"You should watch where you're going," the prince growled.

"I-I'm sorry," Le Fou stammered.

"You're lucky you didn't run into Belle."

Le Fou heard the princess giggle. He didn't dare look up at her.

"What are you doing running around indoors anyway?"

"I'm sorry. I-I woke up late and-"

"Then why are you still standing here? I'm not paying you to do nothing."

"Yes sir. I'll go now."

Le Fou had almost reached the castle's large wooden doors before he heard the princess's dulcet voice call out to him.

"Oh, Le Fou!"

Le Fou stopped and turned around. He didn't dare look Belle in the eyes, instead focusing on her distended abdomen.

"Y-yes, Belle."

Le Fou cringed inwardly. He probably should not have used her first name.

"Tell your friend Armand that I'm thankful he caught me when I collapsed yesterday."

"Oh. Um. Oh, yeah, I will."

Le Fou ran hurriedly towards the stables. He was almost there when he noticed a person standing by the flower garden. Not just any person, Le Fou realized. It was the girl he had seen with Cogsworth late last night when he had been going back to his room.

It was not strange to see a woman standing alone by the flower garden. The castle was, after all, inhabited by more than one hundred servants. However, this girl was behaving very peculiarly. Actually, she didn't seem to be doing much at all. She was just staring at the rose bushes with a vacant expression, completely still. She didn't even flinch when a mousy curl fell into her eye.

He stared at the girl for several more moments before a deep voice interrupted him.

"Le Fou! Where've you been all mornin'? Come inside!"

Le Fou turned to find Armand grinning at him. He followed the taller man inside.

"Armand, who is that woman?"

"Huh? Oh her. She's been out there all mornin'. Haven't seen her move a muscle the whole time. She just arrived here last night. Came back with the prince."

* * *

><p>Two weeks later, Le Fou arrived late at the breakfast. He looked around the crowded room and saw only one seat left. It was next to the strange girl he had seen yesterday. She looked up, saw him looking at her, and immediately focused her attention back on her bowl of porridge. He slid in next to her.<p>

"Hello," he greeted her cheerfully. Le Fou had begun to feel sorry for her. She never spoke to anyone. He often saw around the castle, standing apart from any group, staring off into the distance. Le Fou thought that perhaps she was too shy to make any friends. Le Fou sympathised with her somewhat. He knew what it was like to be an outcast.

She put her spoon down and stared at her bowl of porridge for what seemed like an eternity.

"Hello, " she responded quietly, not looking up.

"My name's Paul-Claude Le Fou. Well actually no one called me Paul-Claude in years. I just go by my last name."

"Okay."

Le Fou frowned. He didn't appear to be getting anywhere.

"What's your name?

She considered her spoon for a few seconds before mumbling something incomprehensible.

"What?" Le Fou asked as politely as he could

"Émilie."

"Oh. Okay. What are you doing here?"

"I am here to serve the prince and princess."

"What are you doing? I mean… err… How are you serving them?"

Émilie shifted uncomfortably.

"Their baby. I'm a nanny. I'm here to help them take care of their baby."

Le Fou was very confused by this piece of information.

"But their baby isn't supposed to be born until next year. Why are you here so early?"

Émilie didn't say anything. She just looked down at her empty bowl.

"I don't want to talk about it."

She rose from her chair and picked up her bowl.

"I am not hungry anymore. Good bye, Monsieur LaBeau."

"No, wait! Don't go!"

Le Fou reached out and grabbed her arm. He knew instantly that he should not have done that. As soon as his hand collided with her bare skin, she let out a scream that made the windows shake. The bowl she was carrying fell to the floor and shattered into a million pieces. Émilie's face turned pale white. She stared at her arm, and then at Le Fou, and then back at her arm again. She ran out of the room wordlessly.

The whole room stared at Le Fou. He sat back down and sheepishly began eating, trying to ignore their stares, while another servants swooped in to clean up the pieces of Émilie's broken bowl .

"Wonder what her problem is," Pierrot muttered as he sat down in Émilie's vacated seat.

Le Fou stared at the door.

"I don't know."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Perhaps it was merely the maternal side of her beginning to take over, but Belle had found herself filled with a sort of motherly fondness for Émilie, even though the two women had to be around the same age. However, the servant was so short and chubby, and her dark brown eyes held such a knowing innocence, that she could be mistaken for someone several years younger.

To tell the truth, she beginning to be a little concerned about the thought of leaving her baby with Émilie, who very seldom spoke without being spoken to and flinched whenever she was touched. But then considering what she had been through, Belle couldn't blame her. And she was so good with the servant children. Never the less the girl was very quiet. So quiet that she had stood standing next to Belle for a full ten minutes before she was noticed.

"Oh, Émilie. I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there!"

"I'm sorry, Madame."

"Uh. There's no need for you to be sorry, Émilie. It isn't your fault."

"I'm sorr-'" Émilie began before she caught herself. "Where should I start?"

Since Émilie had nothing to do until the baby was born, she had been put to work sorting books in the library. Belle had meant to do it herself many times before, but she had always started reading the books instead of sorting them, and had never gotten past the first shelf.

Belle looked around quickly, and took Émilie's hand, who promptly flinched. Belle let go immediately and cursed herself for forgetting.

"Sorry. Follow me?"

She led Émilie over to a shelf filled with old, worn-out books.

"Here we are. _Contes de fées_. _The Faerie Queene_. Have you ever read it?" Belle asked, smiling at her.

"No, Madame."

"Oh, Perrault? D'Aulnoy?"

"No, Madame. Sorry. I don't know how to read." Émilie admitted.

Belle looked as if the entire library had suddenly caught fire.

"Don't... Know... Read..." she muttered incomprehensibly, "Oh! Oh, you poor darling!"

"I-it's alright Madame. I don't mind. I've just.. never learned, and it's never been an issue. I mean I've been a servant my whole life. No one I knew back at my old household read much."

Belle stared in a mixture of shock and pity.

"Madame? Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, dear. I'm fine. It's just... I will teach you!"

"No, Madame. You don't need to do that."

"Yes, I do actually," Belle said indignantly, "My baby must have a nanny who knows how to read. After all, who will read to them when I cannot? Besides, I've taught all of the servant children how to read. It can't be that hard to teach you."

Émilie didn't know whether to be offended or not. She decided to just accept Belle's offer.

"Thank you, Madame." She said, forcing a smile.

"Good," Belle smiled, "Now you start here. I'll work on the cooking section. Cooking... Is not exactly my strong suit so I'll doubt I'll get distracted there."

She walked over to a shelf on the opposite end of the library, leaving Émilie alone.

Le Fou tentatively gripped doorhandle to the door of the library, inwardly hoping that there was no one inside. He just wanted to get his book and leave.

One of the horses, a young stallion named Shakespeare, had seemed sick for the past few days and no one who worked in the stables could figure out what it was. Eventually they had decided to a consult a book. Being the newest of the group, Le Fou had been the unlucky one dispatched to fetch the book.

Le Fou looked around the library. Belle was one side, Émilie on the other. Nuts! The two people he definitely did NOT want to see were here. He closed the door quietly, and slowly walked through the library, trying not to make a sound. He stopped, realizing he did not know what book he wanted, or where it was.

"Oh hello, Le Fou. What are you doing here?"

Nuts! Why did he have such bad luck?

"Hi," he said looking at the ground, "uh, I'm looking for a book."

"You've come to the right place," Belle replied smiling, "What kind of book?"

"One of the horses is sick. Could I.. uh..."

"The equine section is up there." She pointed upwards. Le Fou looked up and took a step back.

"A-all the way up there?" he asked nervously.

"Uh-huh. There's a ladder," Belle said, pointing helpfully.

"Uh. Okay."

Le Fou took a deep breath and started to climb the ladder. Belle turned back to her bookshelf and started to take out the books.

Le Fou finally reached the section he was looking for. He looked at the mass of books. Which one did he need?

Belle absentmindedly flipped through one of the cookbooks. That cake sure did look delicious.

Le Fou picked up an extremely heavy book. This one looked like the one he needed. It sure was heavy though.

Belle's mouth began to water. Thoughts of delicious sponge cake with strawberry icing and rich cream filled her head.

Le Fou looked down. Belle was standing right under him. Maybe he could "accidently" drop the ridiculously heavy book that he was holding, and it would just happened to land on Belle's head.

Belle felt her stomach growl. Maybe she could go down to the kitchen to see if someone would make her a cake.

Maybe this isn't such a good idea, Le Fou thought. After all, Émilie was there too. He should probably climb back down and leave. Yes. That was the best thing to do. He gripped the ladder with one hand, and held the book in the other, but by the time he reached the second step, the book slipped out of his hand.

Le Fou winced and looked down.

Belle was gone. How mysterious.

He leaned back to see if he had knocked her out of sight. No, he still could not see her. He leaned back a little more, but before he knew it, he lost his balance and fell quickly to the floor with a loud thud.

"Oh, monsieur, are you alright?"

Le Fou sat up feeling dazed and looked around to see Émilie staring at him.

"Are you alright?" she repeated.

"Huh? Oh, no. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm okay. I've been through a lot worse."

Émilie did not look convinced. "Do you need me to get someone. You must have fallen twenty feet!"

"I'm sure I'm fine." He stood up, as if to prove it.

Émilie stared at him.

"Well, if you're sure."

She turned back to sorting the books, before turning back and looking at him.

"I apologise for yelling at you before. I... just don't like being touched."

"That's okay. I shouldn't have touched you."

They stared at each other awkwardly.

"So, uh... Do you like living here at the castle," Le Fou asked, desperately trying to make the moment less awkward.

"It is nice here, I suppose. Very pretty. But so big. I can't find my way back to my room without getting lost."

"I had the same problem when I first got here. You'll get used to it."

"Yes. I suppose I will." Émilie fingered her sleeve.

"Hey, where did Belle go?"

"Madame?" Émilie looked around, "She... I'm not sure. She was here a minute ago."

"Oh. Okay."

"I should probably get back to this."

"Uh. Yeah."

Le Fou sat on the floor for a moment, trying to get over his dizziness, before he heard another thud.

Émilie had accidently dropped the book she was holding. She looked terrified.

"Oh… Oh no." Émilie muttered.

"What's wrong? It's just a book." Le Fou almost began to laugh, her face looked so comically horrified.

"Madame gave me very strict instructions on handling and caring for the books."

"Well. Look, the book doesn't look harmed. She won't noticed," Le Fou pointed out.

"Yes, I suppose you're right." Émilie smiled, "You know, it's odd. She talks about these books in the same manner as she talks about her husband and her baby. It's almost as if she thinks they're her children."

"Uh. Yeah. Well Belle's always been a little odd so I'm not surprised."

"Always? You've known her long."

"Ten years or so. She came to the village when she was thirteen."

"She used to live in a village? Isn't she a princess!"

"She's only a princess 'cause she married a prince. I remember back when she was just the crazy inventor's dreamy-eyed daughter."

"She was a peasant?" Émilie was shocked, "I thought only princesses could marry princes."

"I didn't know either! The marriage came out of nowhere. One minute she was reading her books in the village square, just being crazy old Belle. The next she was clinging to some prince. She got over Gaston pretty fast."

"Gaston?" Émilie asked in confusion.

"Her fiance. Handsome, charming, one of the greatest men anyone could ever meet. But he wasn't enough for Belle. No. She just had to have someone better. So she ran off and had an affair with a prince leaving Gaston brokenhearted."

"Oh no! The poor man! I hope he's with a nice lady now."

"No, unfortunately," Le Fou said sadly, "The prince was jealous of Gaston and plotted to get rid of him. He made up a stupid story about some hideous beast in a castle. Gaston, being brave and courageous, rode valiantly off to slay the monster and save Belle and the village. But when Gaston got there the prince, consumed with lust and jealousy, killed him himself, sent his body back to the village, and married Belle.

Émilie was shocked. Her master and mistress had been so kind to her. How could they be these horrible monsters that Le Fou was telling her about? But then, Émilie had experienced these kinds of people. The kinds that were innocent and sweet angels at first, but became vicious demons when you least expected it.

"That poor man," she said, "but why are you here? Working at the castle, I mean."

"Uh... Well... The village…" Le Fou trailed off, not wanting to tell her the real reason.

"Tell me about your village," Émilie said, "I've never lived anywhere else except for the two households that I have served for."

"Well it's small and... I have a day off tomorrow. Why don't I take you there?"

Émilie looked very excited.

"Really? Yes! Oh, I can't wait."

"Good! Well, I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow. Bye!"

Le Fou picked up his book and walked off happily. Émilie returned to sorting the books. Twenty minutes later, Belle returned, slice of cake in hand, and wondered why Émilie was acting so oddly towards her.

* * *

><p><em>AN: I would just like to say that, contrary to what the last chapter and the overall plot of the fan fiction may imply, I am not a homicidal maniac. It depresses me greatly to have to write about killing Belle. I don't want to kill her. Belle is my home girl(Canon!Belle. Sequel!Belle can go die in a pit.)_

_Also, I would like to thank my readers. I just love getting reviews, favourites, and story alert alerts. And, of course, I love going onto my profile and seeing my traffic stats. Just knowing that people are reading what I write makes me so happy. I think I'm an awful writer personally, but if you like it then I must be doing something right! So thank you to everyone! I'll try to update more quickly now. I feel the creative juices pumping already!_

_If you're wondering how Le Fou managed to survive that 20 feet fall, remember, he's Le Fou! He survived standing in the snow for weeks, catching on fire, getting stabbed in the butt, and being knocked on the head countless times by Gaston. Dude's made of iron._

_This has been an I'm-Not-Dead update._


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

At breakfast the next morning, Le Fou and Émilie spoke of their plans to go to the village that day. Robillard, the old castle chef, overheard them and offered to take them in his ancient old cart.

"I'm going down to the village to visit a friend of mine," he explained to him as he poured honey into his porridge. "Otherwise I wouldn't bother."

Since the only other way to get down to the village was by walking, they gladly accepted his offer and as soon as they finished breakfast, they headed out to the gardens where Robillard was waiting for them. However, almost as soon they boarded the rickety old cart they began to regret it. The cart, which Robillard had apparently bought thirty years previously, felt like it would break when it was just standing still, and this feeling did not get better when the cart went into motion. If the old mare pulling the cart wasn't going as slow as it was, it probably would have broken in two.

Le Fou certainly did not remember there being this many twists and turns in the path the last time he had travelled it. That was another reason to be thankful that the horse was so slow. If they were going any faster, Le Fou would probably be seeing his breakfast again.

Émilie remained quiet the entire ride to the village. Which was probably just as well, as, if she did speak, she would probably not be heard over the sound of Robillard, who seemed to be recounting a story, seemingly to himself, about the incompetence of one of the kitchen hands, using a lot of rather colourful language.

When the village finally came into sight, Le Fou could not help but feel very relieved. If this cart ride had gone on any longer, he probably would have gotten off and walked the rest of the way.

Robillard stopped the cart by a small stream, not far from the cottage where Belle used to live with her father. Émilie immediately jumped out of the cart and laid face first on the grass. Chef Robillard tied the old mare to a tree.

"I'll be back at twelve. If you're not here waiting for me, I'll be leaving without you."

"Okay." Le Fou turned and stared at Émilie, who was still lying on the grass. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, fine. Just motion sickness. I'll be alright in a moment."

Le Fou looked around for a moment. The village had not changed much in the months since he had last been here. It was the same old shops, the same small cottages. He had to admit, coming back after spending a few months surrounded by nothing but stone walls and trees, it certainly made him appreciate how pretty scenery was here.

Émilie got up, looking much better than she did before, and looked around.

"Let's go!"

They walked along the small path to the village, across the two little bridges over the two tiny streams. They had almost reached the village border, when Le Fou heard a familiar voice.

"Le Fou! Le Fou!"

Le Fou and Émilie turned around to see three identical blonde women, who were accompanied by three identical brunet men, and surrounded by what appeared to be a flock of near-identical four year old children.

After Gaston's death, the triplets who fawned over him were utterly heartbroken. They switched their usual red, yellow, and green outfits for plain black mourning dresses, and kept a lock of his hair, as well as small portrait by their bedsides.

That all changed when they saw the new triplet brothers who moved into town a few months later. The new young men were handsome, charming, single, and, most importantly, there was one for each of them. And there was no Belle around to mess anything up either.

Almost exactly nine months after their marriage, each sister gave birth to triplets of their own. A set of two boys and one girl for each couple. All with blonde hair and blue eyes. It was nigh impossible to tell any of the nine children apart.

"Say bonjour to Monsieur Le Fou, children."

"Bonjour, Monsieur Le Fou," echoed nine identical little voices

"We haven't seen you in months," the sister in red said.

"We thought you were dead or something," said the one wearing green.

"Who is this?" the third sister asked, pointing to Émilie.

"This is Émilie. Émilie, this is…" Le Fou paused, trying to remember which sister was which. He decided to take a wild guess. "This is Lilette."

"Lucette," she corrected him, "and this is my husband, Andre, and our children, Marc, Marielle, and Marius. And this is my sister Lilette, and her husband Antonin, and their children, Noel, Norbert, and Nicolette."

"No, Lucette!" Laurette, the sister in red interrupted her. "That is not Lilette's Antonin, or her Norbert, Noel, and Nicolette. That is my Alain, and my Rudolphe, Rainer, and Rosalie. Gosh, you can be so stupid sometimes."

Lucette and Laurette glared at each other.

"Anyway," Lilette turned to Le Fou. "Where've you been?"

"Uh. The castle."

"Which castle?" Lucette asked.

"Prince Étienne's castle."

"Prince…" Laurette said, looking very confused.

"…Étienne's castle," Lucette finished, looking equally as confused.

"Oh! That prince that Belle married," Lilette said, having a sudden moment of clarity. She had always been the most intelligent of the sisters after all.

"How is dear Belle?"

"We heard that she was going that she was going to have a baby."

"Oh how cute!"

"I wonder if it'll be a little prince or a little princess? Are the children of princes and princesses also princes and princesses, or is that just for kings and queens?" asked Laurette, looking confused again.

"I'd love another baby," Lucette said dreamily.

At that point, their husbands, who had been trying to prevent a fight between two sets of children, looked up in horror. One of them quickly grabbed his wife's hand, and the other two started herding up the children.

"That's enough girls. We have to go."

"Oh? Okay. Bye Le Fou. Bye - What's her name again?- Bye Le Fou's friend!"

"Uh, should we go in now?"

"Huh?" Émilie was still staring at the family of fifteen as they walked into the village. "Oh, yes."

The village was busy that day. Townsfolk bustled around the town, gossiping, bargaining, arguing, going on with their daily lives, yet somehow Le Fou felt as though every eyes was on him. He hadn't even been in the village for five minutes before he felt that he had to leave. It was too much to handle.

"I'm hungry," Émilie said suddenly, putting a hand to her stomach.

"Huh? Oh, there's a bakery over there. I'll be back." He began to navigate through the crowds, a sick feeling beginning to come over him.

"Where are you going?" Émilie called, beginning to feel nervous at the thought of being left alone.

"I'll be back in a second."

Émilie turned and timidly approached the bakery where a young girl was serving a young man. Well it looked as though she was supposed to be serving him. The way she battered her eyelashes and rested her chin in the palm of her hand suggested otherwise.

"Marie, get back to work."

"Oops! Sorry, Papa."

A man and woman had arrived. Marie quickly shooed away the young man, but Émilie saw her wink suggestively at him when her father wasn't looking.

"Now," the man turned to Émilie, "What do you want?"

Émilie was about to answer when the woman, who had been looking at her curiously, spoke up.

"I haven't seen you around before. Are you new here?"

"Well, um, no," Émilie admitted, feeling very awkward. Talking to people she didn't know made her very nervous. "Not really. I'm just visiting actually."

"Oh, well. Welcome. I am Henri, and this is my wife Marie," said the man, pointing at the woman.

"I thought your daughter was named Marie?"

"We're both named Marie."

"Oh." Between this and the triplets, this was turning out to be a very confusing trip for Émilie.

* * *

><p>"Gee, Gaston. I really am trying, but, well, things just keep getting in the way."<p>

Le Fou was standing by Gaston's grave. He thought, that maybe, just maybe, Gaston would speak to him again like he had done months ago.

"I kinda like it at the castle." Le Fou hated to admit it. "I haven't felt this way since before you died. I've met some interesting people there. Armand reminds me of you, kind of. Except he's not as handsome, or strong, or amazing as you. You're the best and you always will be."

Le Fou paused and listened carefully, trying to hear if Gaston would speak to him again.

"Émilie is kind of strange. But I don't know. I kind of like her. It's kind of like you how liked Belle, even though there was obviously something not quite right about her. You should see her husband now! Gosh, what a ridiculous fop. Imagine! A beast in a castle! The whole family is nuts if you ask me."

No response.

"I guess you're not gonna say anything today, huh? Well that's okay. I have to go back to Émilie anyway. Bye!"

Le Fou began walking back to the village. He was just passing a small cottage when he heard crying coming from inside. It sounded like a man. Unable to help himself, Le Fou peered in through one of the windows.

A woman lay motionless on a bed. Her hair was messy, her skin was pale. Deathly pale. There was blood spattered on the sheets around her legs.

Nearby, a man partially hid his face in his hands, but from what Le Fou could see, it was flushed with tears.

An older woman sat next to him, holding something blue wrapped in a baby blanket. Le Fou soon realized that the blue little thing was partly why the man was crying. It was a baby. A dead baby. And the mother was dead too.

Le Fou recognised the man from around the village. He had come a few weeks before Le Fou had left. Le Fou had never learned his name, but he had come into the tavern a few times.

It made him think of-

Well, never mind that, he had to go back to Émilie. It was almost time to leave.

Seeing Émilie standing awkwardly by a tree, holding a small baguette, he walked to her as fast as his little legs could carry him.

"Hi! Uh." Le Fou still couldn't get the dead mother and baby out of his mind. "I don't feel right about this little trip. It's almost twelve o'clock. Can we go wait for Robillard?"

"Yes." Émilie was glad. This trip to the village wasn't going very well for her either. She just wanted to go home.

"Good."

They started walking back through the village towards where Robillard had left the cart. Just as they were almost at the edge of the village, Le Fou heard yet another familiar voice.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

It was Guillaume, who was staggering towards them, and, by the looks of it, drunk.

"Le Fou! Where've you been the last few months?" he slurred.

"Uh." Le Fou wished he wouldn't be so loud. They were attracting attention. "I left to go and work in the castle, remember?"

"I don't remember that."

"I-I told you."

"Who is this? Your new girlfriend?" Guillaume pointed to Émilie who was staring at Guillaume with a horrified look on her face. A crowd of townspeople were forming around them. Le Fou could see the triplets calming their many children.

"She's just a friend."

Guillaume smiled and walked towards her.

"Well, she's not exactly Helen of Troy, but she'll do for one night, I guess. Come on, want to spend some time with a real man?"

As he reached out to grab her hand, his arm brushed across Émilie's breast. Her face went pale white, she stood in complete silence for a second, before letting out a high-pitched scream, and began to push pass the townspeople, tears streaming down her pale face.

"Émilie! Émilie, wait!"

Glancing back at Guillaume, Le Fou quickly ran after her. This was a terrible idea. Why did he ever suggest going to the village. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Le Fou finally got to the place where Robillard had put the cart. He looked around. Where was she?

Spying a mess of short blonde curls up on the hill nearby, he quickly raced up there. The cottage where Belle had lived with her father had been abandoned six years ago, and no one had lived there since. Émilie sat on a rock, staring at the enormous river that ran through the valley.

"Are you alright?" Le Fou asked.

"No."

"That was a stupid question. Sorry."

Le Fou stood there feeling very awkward. Émilie was still shaking from her encounter with Guillaume.

"H-he just reminded me of someone," she croaked out.

"Oh." Le Fou stood there, unsure of what to say next. He wasn't really a comforting sort of person.

The next few moments seemed to last an eternity. Émilie stared at the long, flowing river for a few moments, before she suddenly spoke again.

"You only just started working for the Prince a few months ago, right?"

"Uh yeah."

"I've never been a "free" person," Émilie explained, still staring at the river. "I've never known anything other than being a servant. I was born a servant. My mother was a chambermaid for a nobleman in Nice. I never knew who my father was, although there were rumours about one of the master's sons. "

Émilie paused and looked over at Le Fou who was still standing by her.

"My mother died of pneumonia when I was eighteen, and I was sent to work for another family in Rennes, where I was a nursemaid for the young children. I liked the job. The family was nice, my fellow servants were friendly, and the children were pleasant." She smiled, remembering them.

"There was just this one man though. A personal servant to the master." Her voice suddenly became very cold and her face became white again." He was handsome, I won't deny it. He obviously thought a lot of himself. He showed me a lot of attention when I first arrived. I was never very attractive. I'm short, and rather chubby, and there are nasty boils all over my body. So I was flattered by the attention he gave me, although it made me uncomfortable. At first he and I actually had a very good relationship, but sometimes." Her voice became shaky and she started to develop a stammer in her speech. "Sometimes we would get into some awful arguments. He became violently angry whenever I would say he was wrong. And when I refused to do something I didn't want to do."

Émilie paused again, and looked back into the river.

"One night he escorted me back to my room, which was nice of him, I thought, and then he asked to go inside with me. I knew what he wanted to do, so I said no. Of course not, I wasn't going to do that kind of thing when we weren't married, and I was too ashamed of my body to let him see it. But he insisted that he wouldn't mind, and he promised that he would marry me, but I still refused." Her voice had become so quiet that Le Fou almost couldn't hear it.

"He forced himself on me."

Émilie paused, as she remembered the night. It still haunted her. Whenever she touched her arms and legs, she could still feel the bruises, even if they weren't visible anymore.

"It wasn't just that night either. He came to my room almost every night after that. In fact it was still going on right up until the night I left. He told me that if I told anyone, he would say that I begged for it and that I brought it on myself. The head of household there had always been like a father figure to me, so eventually I confided in him. He said that he couldn't dismiss the man. He was too valuable a servant for the household to lose. But he was a friend of the head of household of the prince here and knew that the princess was with-child, so when the prince came to visit, he explained the situation and asked if I could come and work here."

"Oh." Le Fou honestly could not think of anything else to say. "Well, uh. At least you're far away from a monster like him."

"I guess so. But, I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust anyone ever again."

"You can trust me," Le Fou blurted out suddenly. Émilie stared at him.

"Well, you can. I mean, I'm short and weak. I make friends with stronger people because I'd never be able to survive on my own! I'd never do something like that." Le Fou began to feel very stupid.

Émilie looked at him, and then she smiled a bit.

"Thank you," she said weakly. Le Fou looked behind him. He could see Robillard headed towards the cart.

"Come on, we have to go."

Émilie followed him without saying a word. They sat silently next to each other on the long ride back to castle.

* * *

><p><em>That was awful. And really short. Ugh. I was originally planning for Émilie's "boyfriend" to be just straight up abusive, but it turned into... well that. And now I should probably change the rating again, even though I wasn't really that explicit.<em>

_The next chapter will be longer, well-written, and rather light-hearted, I promise. I'm having so much fun writing it after this Debbie Downer of a chapter. _


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight(AKA The Christmas in May Spectacular)**

One fateful night, almost six years ago, Belle experienced a happiness that, previously, she had never thought possible. As she danced around the lavishly decorated, lightly lit golden ballroom with her Beast, she felt a strange feeling in her heart. A feeling that made her realize that, even though she was away from her home, her father, and everything she had ever cared about, she was safe and there was hope for the future. At that moment, she had never felt so contented, beautiful, and excited.

Unfortunately trying to recreate that beautiful moment while heavily pregnant, surrounded by over one hundred servants, and the fact that her Beast was now a human prince, was not quite so special.

"Ouch. Belle, I think we should give up," Étienne finally said, after the fifth time she stepped on his foot. "I think we've established that ballroom dancing in your condition isn't exactly working out."

Belle pouted. It wasn't her fault she couldn't see either of their feet. "We managed to make it work when you were eight feet tall and covered with fur."

"Sshhh." Étienne looked around wildly. Not all of their servants had been around when he had been the Beast. "I was a lot of stronger back then. And you were a lot smaller." He rubbed his back. It was still sore from when he had tried to lift her up. He could have sworn he heard Belle growl at him.

"Well, darling, you have to admit, you have gained a bit of weight around the middle," he joked, and immediately regretted it when he saw the look in Belle's eyes.

"Come on," he put a hand around her waist. "Let's go sit down."

At a table at the back of the room, Le Fou and Émilie sat staring at the dance floor. Neither of them had wanted to come to the Belle's annual Christmas party, but they had been forced. Le Fou by Armand, who had wanted him to have a good time, and Émilie by Belle, whose enthusiasm for Christmas was beginning to scare Émilie.

"Would you like to dance?" Le Fou asked, trying to be nice.

Émilie looked at him. "I'm not really a dancing sort of person."

"Oh, okay. Good." Le Fou breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't much of a dancer either.

Babette sat at a small table, glaring at the dance floor. Étienne and Belle joined her.

"Are you alright, Babette?" Belle asked as she squeezed into the chair next to her.

"Look!" she hissed. "Look at them!"

"Who?" Étienne sat down next to Belle and put an arm around her.

"Them! That horrid Fifi dancing with my Lumiere."

The year previously, after almost twenty years of their tumultuous on-again, off-again relationship, Babette had finally convinced her beau, the eternal lothario Lumiere, to marry her. This, unfortunately, had angered her self-proclaimed love rival Fifi who had also been interested in Lumiere.

"Ugh. Just because Christmas is their "special time". Oh Lumiere!" Babette imitated Fifi's high-pitched screech . "Oh, Lumiere! Remember that beautiful sleigh ride you took me on our first date. Wasn't it wonderful. The snow was so white that showed off how beautiful my black teeth are."

Belle giggled.

"And now look at me. Sitting here with no one to dance with. I should be dancing with my husband. Not that little…" Babette muttered a few curse words under her breath.

Belle elbowed her husband in the stomach. Étienne clutched his side.

"Belle! I thought you promised to stop hitting me when-"

Belle gestured to Babette with her eyes.

"Oh! Babette, would you like to dance with me?" Étienne offered his hand to her.

"Me? Oh, Master!" Babette eagerly took his hand, and determinedly led him to the dance floor to make Lumiere jealous.

Belle smiled as she watched them. Maurice and Mrs Potts made their way over to where she was sitting.

"Belle!"

"Papa!" Belle kissed the top of her father's bald head.

"How are you?"

"Fine." She smiled at him. "Except the baby's been kicking a lot lately. It's been keeping me up all night. I haven't had a good night's sleep in months. And Étienne wants to name the baby after his grandfathers. I tell him that no child of mine is going to be named Prince Telesphore-Adalbert Pharamond, but he says that it's his child too, and that he thinks that Shakespeare Merlin sounds ridiculous."

"Don't worry, dear, he'll-" Maurice stopped midsentence as he was distracted by something at the back of the ballroom. "Isn't that Gaston's little sidekick? Naboo?"

"Huh? Oh, yes. Le Fou's been living here for the past few months."

"Is he talking to Émilie?" asked Mrs Potts. "How sweet! They'd make a cute couple."

"We should get them together," agreed Belle.

"Belle, it's getting late. I think we should go to bed." Étienne had come back.

"Étienne? I thought you were dancing with Babette."

Étienne pointed to where Lumiere and Babette were helping a very inebriated-looking Cogsworth back to his room.

"One too many eggnogs. Christmas is the only time of the year he drinks."

"Oh dear. We really should watch him around this time." Mrs Potts bustled off to assist Lumiere and Babette.

Belle giggled and stood up. "I'll be back in a moment. I have to go talk to someone." She left, leaving Maurice and Étienne alone together.

Étienne stared at his father-in-law awkwardly. Maurice stared back, still feeling slightly scared of the prince. He still hadn't forgotten that horrible November night six years previously.

"So," Étienne began. "A-are you enjoying your Christmas?"

"Yes. Yes, I am," Maurice said. "Lovely Christmas tree this year."

"Thank you. Belle picked it out herself."

"You know, when my little Belle was a sweet little baby, she used to sit by the Christmas tree and-"

Étienne groaned, as he always did when Maurice told one of his "sweet little baby Belle" stories. He swore that Maurice only told them to make him feel guilty.

* * *

><p>"I think I should go to bed now. Good night."<p>

"Good night." Le Fou watched Émilie leave. He should probably go to bed himself.

"Good evening, Le Fou."

Ugh. Le Fou looked up.

"Hello, Belle. Or do I have to call you "Princess Belle" now?"

She laughed. "Just Belle is fine."

"Can I sit here?" Belle gestured to Émilie's vacated seat.

"No! Leave me alone and go back to your murderer of a husband, you stupid whore!" was what Le Fou wanted to say.

"Uh. I guess so."

"Thank you." Belle smiled at him, her unusually plump pink lips becoming even plumper and pinker. She sat down, let out a relieved sigh, and began to massage her stomach for a few moments.

"I'm sorry about Gaston," she said finally. "I know you really loved him."

Le Fou stared at her.

"I didn't like him though. In fact, I hated him. I still do. What he did to my husband was unforgiveable. Maybe if he wasn't so forceful, and didn't threaten to lock my father up, we might have gotten along. But he didn't deserve to die."

"He only wanted to marry you," Le Fou countered. "He loved you."

"I don't know what it was, but it certainly wasn't love," Belle laughed. "Anyway, I didn't want to get married. Not then, at least. I was only seventeen, and he was almost ten years older. He expected his wife to be subservient to him. To cook for him, and massage his feet, and," Belle shuddered, "give birth to dozens of his children. I dreamed of adventure and excitement. I didn't want to be trapped in a marriage with a disgusting pig like him."

Le Fou glared at her. Gaston was a god!

"You married your prince soon enough."

"Well, that's different." Belle smiled. "Étienne and I have something special. He's got qualities that no other man has."

"Yeah, like a giant castle," Le Fou muttered under his breath.

"I felt trapped in that little village," Belle said as she watched the snow falling outside the window. "I was deeply unhappy there. Everyone there was so," Belle paused and thought of the correct word. "They were superficial. Every day I would go into the village and I would see them. They would greet each other with a smile, but as soon as their backs were turned, they would gossip and say the most awful things. It was disturbing. I heard what they said about me. They said it was sinful that I wasn't like them. That it was a shame that my beauty was wasted on me. Every day I would walk through town to get to the bookshop. And the way they stared at me. I felt their eyes following me. I had never felt so invaded. Even in the bookshop I wasn't safe. A crowd of red-faced older men would form around the window. And they wondered why I stayed inside all the time."

Le Fou groaned and wondered when Belle's self-pitying monologue would end. He wanted to go bed!

"Worst of all was the way they taunted my poor father. My beloved Papa, who raised me and loved me and did everything for me. They didn't know him. They had no right to call him crazy. And oh- "

Belle had noticed Étienne and Maurice sitting across the table from each other, staring at each other awkwardly.

"Oh dear. Papa and Étienne don't look like they're getting along well, do they? It's getting late anyway. _Bonne nuit_, Le Fou."

Le Fou glared as he watched Belle make her way through the crowded ballroom. She had no right to talk about Gaston that way!


	10. Chapter 9

_Yes, I know. I've been getting through these updates really fast lately. I'm sorry. I've just had a sudden burst of inspiration recently. I'll be back to my usual snail pace soon enough. _

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

The weeks went by and the end of winter was drawing closer. The pure white snow that draped the castle with a picturesque blanket was beginning to melt. Each morning the residents of the castle were awoken by the twittering of the birds that came to nest.

Le Fou and Émilie were growing closer and closer each day. When they weren't working, they would spend a lot of their time together. They would go for walks around the castle grounds. Le Fou would tell her all about Gaston's exploits. Émilie would listen. At first she loved to hear about Gaston's adventures, but as time went on, her face became more and more solemn whenever Le Fou would tell his stories.

When she wasn't with Le Fou, or working on sorting all the books in the massive library, Émilie was being taught to read by Belle, who still insisted on teaching her.

"Do ya wanna take a walk in the snow before it melts?" Le Fou asked Émilie one cold February day as she was sorting the books in the library.

"I can't," Émilie said. "I'm having my lesson with the mistress early today. It's the master's birthday."

Prince Étienne's birthday was today? That meant that this was also the anniversary of Gaston's death. How could Le Fou have forgotten? How could he have strayed from his mission for this long? And Belle was due to have her baby soon. He should have killed Belle months ago.

"Oh, I'm sorry Gaston! How could I be so distracted!"

"Are you alright?" Émilie was staring at Le Fou, perturbed by his strange outburst.

"Oh, i-it's nothing," Le Fou insisted. "It's just… Today was the day Gaston died."

"Oh? Oh dear, I'm sorry about that."

"Oh no. It's not your fault. It's Belle's. And that stupid husband of hers. You know," Le Fou against one of the bookcases. "Gaston was such an amazing man. I don't know why Belle didn't just marry him. It's her own fault we had to blackmail her."

Émilie looked and stared at him with a strange expression on her face.

"Blackmail?" she repeated. "You-you tried to blackmail her into marrying that man."

"Yeah!" Le Fou said, oblivious to Émilie's growing disgust. "It was one of Gaston's more ingenious plans. It would have worked if it-"

"Plans? What did you try to do?"

"We were only gonna threaten to lock her father up. It's not like we were gonna do it."

Émilie looked horrified. "That's terrible! No wonder she refused to marry this Gaston man."

"But-but Émilie!"

"It actually sounds like something that man back at my old household would have done!"

Le Fou suddenly got very angry at Émilie. How dare she judge Gaston like this when she didn't even know him?

"Shut up!" he shouted. "You can't say that! You never even knew him!"

Le Fou stormed from the room, muttering under his breath. He heard Émilie shout for him, but he was too distracted with his own anger to care. He leaned against a wall just outside to library to contain himself.

He couldn't believe he had been distracted from his mission for so long. Belle was still alive and was about to have her baby. He had contemplated leaving Belle alive long enough for her to give birth. Surely only her death alone would be enough to make the Prince suffer. Maybe she would even die in childbed and Le Fou wouldn't have blood on his hands.

But now Le Fou was so angry. She needed to die today! And how fitting it would be for her to die on the day of Gaston's death.

Le Fou looked out of the window. It was getting slightly darker. Belle would be at the library soon to give Émilie her lesson. If he followed her around for the rest of the night and wait for a moment where she was vulnerable and alone, his plan would surely be accomplished.

As quietly as he could, he went back into the library. Émilie didn't see him. He hid behind one of the chairs. At that moment he was incredibly thankful that he was so short.

Moments later, Belle waddled in, with one hand on her back. She called to Émilie and sat down near where Le Fou was hiding.

"Are you alright, madame?" Émilie asked as she sat down next to her.

Belle managed a smile. "Fine. Thank you, Émilie."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Heavens! You sound like my husband. Now, we were up to page fifty."

Émilie opened the book and began to read. Belle listened, and corrected her. Occasionally, she whimpered and winced in pain. And not just whenever Émilie made a mistake either.

After about ten minutes, Belle put her hand up. "That's enough, Émilie. I don't think I can take much more today."

"Okay." Émilie stood up and carefully put the book down on the table. "Do you want me to get someone?" she asked.

Belle winced a little and looked up. "No thank you, Émilie."

Emile left and Belle picked up a book and began to read it.

Le Fou smiled. This would be his chance. He edged for forward, drawing Gaston's knife from his pocket. He got closer and closer. He was almost there, when he heard footsteps just outside the library. He scrambled back to his hiding place, as Mrs Potts entered the room pushing a trolley.

"Hello dear!" she greeted Belle in a cheerful tone.

Belle grunted in response.

"Would you like some tea, dear?" Mrs Potts asked.

Belle sighed. "Yes, thank you, Mrs Potts." She leaned forward and rubbed her back.

"The baby should be born soon," Mrs Potts observed as she poured out the tea.

"I hope so."

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was born today? What a wonderful way to mark the sixth anniversary of the transformation."

In his hiding place, Le Fou frowned slightly. What transformation?

"Yes," Belle agreed. She certainly did want the baby born that day, but for very different reasons.

"Do you want a boy or a girl," Mrs Potts asked. "Little Chip is convinced that it will be a little boy."

"Étienne says he wants a girl. But he also says he wants another me."

"How sweet of him to say so!"

Belle frowned. "I think it's rather disturbing actually. I don't mind what it is as long as it doesn't have horns."

"Oh yes. But I think a little tail would be adorable." Mrs Potts and Belle laughed.

Le Fou was becoming even more confused. Why would Belle be worried about her baby having horns?

"You and my father seem to be getting along well," Belle said, sipping her tea.

Mrs Potts dropped her teacup.

"Heavens! How clumsy of me!" Mrs Potts looked down to hide her pink face. "That reminds me! I have to give Chip his dinner. Oh hello, master! Good bye, Belle!"

Étienne stared as Mrs Potts passed him in the hallway.

"That was strange." He came into the room. Belle finished the last of her tea and looked up.

"Happy birthday, darling. And happy you-know-what anniversary."

Le Fou frowned again. Were they really _that _happy about Gaston's death.

"I have you to thank for everything, my beloved."

Belle giggled.

"Let's go. Lumiere and Robillard say they've got an excellent meal prepared for us."

"Ooh."

"Did you hear that?" Étienne looked around.

"Hear what?"

"Oh, it was nothing I guess."

They both left the room. Le Fou leapt from his hiding space and began to run to the dining room where Belle and Étienne had most of their meals. After living in the castle for seven months, he knew all the shortcuts very well.

Arriving at the dining room, he was delighted to find that he was the only one there, and climbed under the enormous table. He was easily obscured by the tablecloth. Just seconds later, Belle and Étienne entered the room.

Étienne helped his wife to her seat before sitting down in his own chair. Servants came out and began to serve their food.

"Belle," he began. "I hate to bring this up today, but I've been meaning to talk to you about that little… man."

"What little man?" she asked, looking up from her soup.

"You know… the little friend of that black-haired man."

"Who? Le Fou. He's harmless dear."

"Harmless? His friend killed me!"

Under the table, Le Fou was very confused.

"Oh, Étienne, dear," Belle laughed. "Don't be ridiculous. You're not dead now. And, even then, Gaston indirectly caused his own death by trying to take yours. Besides, people can change. You should know that."

"I don't care. I don't like that little worm being around here. He's a danger to you and my child."

"How? He hasn't posed a threat to anyone since he's been here. And look at what he's done for dear Émilie. When she first got here, she was terrified of everyone. Now she's so cheerful and-"

Belle whimpered as she was overcome by pain again. Étienne stood up, mortified.

"Belle! Are you alright?" he asked as he rushed to her side.

"I'm fine," she insisted, picking up her spoon again.

"No. You aren't fine."

"I am! Étienne, please."

Étienne looked doubtful. "I think you should go to bed early."

"On your birthday? No. "

"Please, Belle. I will consider it my birthday present from you if you go to bed now."

"But I'm hungry!" she whined.

Étienne mustered all of his princely courage and spoke in a loud voice. "Belle, I order you to go bed now!"

"Oh, fine then. I will" Belle pouted.

Étienne smiled. "Good. Pierre, take Belle up to bed and stand guard at her door."

Étienne helped Belle up, and she made her way out. At the door, she turned and smiled devilishly at her husband. "I do love it when you get all beastly, you know."

The Prince blushed and sat back down. He sighed.

"Don't worry, master. She'll feel better after the baby comes."

"I hope you're right, Lumiere." He stood up. "I'm going up to the library to read for a while. If you need me, I'll be there."

He left the room. Le Fou waited for almost an hour as the servants cleared away all of the dishes. As soon as he was completely sure that there was no one else left in the room, he quickly got out from under the table and ran out of the room to begin the long walk up to the West Wing.

Le Fou reached into his pocket to make sure the knife was still there. He felt Gaston's name engraved into the knife. It was strangely comforting.

Finally reaching the West Wing, he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Pierre, the servant who had been ordered to guard Belle's room, was asleep. This was going to be easier than he thought.

Just as he had done during his first failed attempt on Belle's life, Le Fou put an ear to the door to make sure she was asleep. He heard her familiar soft snoring, so he opened the door.

Belle lay on the bed in her long white chemise, the blankets pulled just up to her stomach. Le Fou pulled Gaston's knife from his pocket. This was it. Time to get revenge on the prince for-

Le Fou paused mid-thought. What had the prince meant when he said that Gaston had killed him? Gaston would never kill a man. He had gone to the castle to kill a beast. Wait a minute. The transformation. The baby with horns. Belle's comment about being beastly. It was all coming into place now. The Prince was the Beast!

Le Fou stared at Belle. She really had been in love with a Beast. And the Beast somehow turned into a human on the night of Gaston's death.

This meant that Gaston had tried to kill a man. Le Fou looked down at the knife, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach. Gaston had tried to kill man and had almost succeeded all because he wanted to marry a girl who hated him. Émilie was right. He was like that man who had taken away her innocence. In many ways it was almost worst. At least that guy never resorted to murder.

Le Fou was disgusted with himself. He had become obsessed with Gaston. And so obsessed with revenge that he had begun to her his disembodied voice in his head. How could he have ever liked such a horrible person?

And, to think, he was about to kill Belle himself. How would this have helped in any way? That made him just as bad as Gaston. In many ways, he was worse as he was going to kill both a woman and her baby.

No, he didn't like the Prince much as a person. But that wasn't any reason to kill his wife and unborn child. It wasn't too late now. If he left now, he could go and apologize to Émilie, and live the rest of his life in peace. No one would ever know of his plan.

He was about to tiptoe out of the room when the knife he was holding, slipped out of his hands and bounced underneath the bed. Le Fou held his breath.

Belle shifted a little, but didn't wake up. Le Fou breathed out. He contemplated leaving the knife there, but then remembered Gaston's name engraved in it. They would know he was there.

Le Fou got down on his hands and knees, and crawled under the bed. Grasping his unusually large hands around the knife, he breathed a sigh of relief and stood up, only to come face-to-face with a pair of large doe-like hazel eyes.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Belle was awoken from a light sleep by a small noise and the most awful stomach pains she had ever felt. She opened her eyes wearily and stared into the dimly lit room. She made out a small human figure next to her bed. It took a few moments for her to process what she was seeing. Eventually she made out the small, shaking form of Le Fou.

"Le Fou," she muttered, still dazed from sleep and distracted by pain. "What are you doing h-"

That's when she saw Gaston's knife sitting in Le Fou's oversized hands. She let out a horrified scream that could have woken the entire castle. Pierre, the servant who had been assigned to guard Belle, burst into the room, followed quickly by Prince Étienne who had decided to head to bed early. It seemed like the three of them stared at Le Fou forever.

"I knew it!" shouted the Prince. "I knew he was up to something! And it looks like we got here just in time! What are you doing here?"

"N-n-nothing!"

"Do you break into the bedrooms of sleeping women often? Is that some kind of sick hobby for you?"

"N-no, Your Highness."

The Prince reached out and grabbed Le Fou by the collar, pulling him up so that they were face to face. Gaston's knife slipped out of his hands and dropped to the floor.

"Étienne, dear, please be careful!" Belle shrieked. "You know what the physician said about your back!"

Étienne ignored her and spoke to Le Fou in a low, growling tone that sounded unnatural coming from a human.

"Tell me," he growled. "Tell me why I found you standing next to my wife's bed holding a knife."

"I-I-I w-was gonna-"

"Yes?" Étienne's deep blue eyes shined with anger.

"I was gonna kill her but-"

"But you didn't think you'd get caught?"

"Yes! I mean no! I don't know. Let me explain. I wanted to get back at you for killing Gaston so I-"

"And what exactly would killing Belle accomplish other than revenge? Killing her won't bring him back."

"I know! I was going to kill her but-"

Le Fou looked over at Belle. He saw the betrayed expression on her face. He felt disgusted with himself. He was just as bad as Gaston, and that man who took advantage of Émilie.

"I couldn't. Gaston was an awful person. I can't believe I ever thought that blackmailing Belle into marrying him was a good idea. I'm sorry I ever had this stupid plan."

"I've heard enough." Étienne threw Le Fou back down to the floor. "I appreciate that you can acknowledge that you were wrong. But you're a danger to my wife and child. Pierre, take him to the tower."

Belle moaned and clutched her stomach. "Étienne! The baby!"

"And then get the midwife!"

* * *

><p>The tower was much colder than the rest of the castle. . It was also much darker and looked as though it hadn't been cleaned in twenty years. Le Fou shivered as he tried to make himself more comfortable in the mountain of hay that he presumed was there for him to sleep on. They could have at least given him a blanket. Le Fou supposed that it was right that he was here. He didn't blame the Prince for imprisoning him. He did, after all, almost murder his pregnant wife.<p>

How had he let himself get to this point? How had he let himself become so obsessed with revenge that he started to hear Gaston's voice in his head? Gaston was dead. Which was a good thing, he told himself. A very good thing.

Le Fou sat up as he heard footsteps coming down the long hall. Oh great. The Prince was probably here to punish him. Wait. Those footsteps sounded too dainty to belong to the Prince. In fact, they sounded very familiar.

"Émilie?"

"Le Fou!" Émilie crouched down to speak to him through the little barred window. "What happened?"

"I'm locked in a tower."

"Obviously. Why are you in here?"

"I-I kinda." Le Fou sighed. He decided to just tell Émilie the truth. "I snuck into Belle's bedroom and tried to kill her while she was sleeping."

Émilie gasped. "You-you did what? No wonder I heard the Prince say…" Émilie trailed off, a grim expression coming over her face.

"Heard him say what?"

"He said that he was going to execute you."

"Can he do that?"

"He is the prince! And you did try to kill his wife."

"I didn't even try! I mean, I was going to! But I just couldn't do it."

Le Fou told her the whole story. How he had felt neglected in the village after Gaston. How he had formulated the plan. And about the moment when he realized that he had been wrong all along. Émilie listened with rapt attention.

"And then when I got up there. I just couldn't do it. "

"Why not?"

"The prince was the Beast. Gaston killed him. Or he tried to. I'm not quite sure about it, actually. And I thought about what you said about Gaston forcing Belle to marry him. You're right. He was an awful person. I am so sorry for yelling at you."

Émilie was quite for a few moments. She had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Alright. I accept your apology," she said. "But what are we going to do now?"

"What do ya mean?" Le Fou asked.

"Well, the Prince said he was going to execute you. You're going to die!"

"I s'pose I deserve it."

"But you realized you were wrong. We need find a way to unlock this door. Let's see. It looks there's just a big metal thing. I'll try sliding this across and… Yes!"

The wooden door swung open.

"Come on," Émilie grabbed Le Fou's hand without hesitation. "We have to get out of here before they realize you're missing."

"We? What about your job here?" asked Le Fou.

"They're royalty! They can always hire someone else. You know I've always wanted to escape from servitude. I want to be free. Come on! Let's go!"

* * *

><p>"I cannot believe it!"<p>

Cogsworth ducked as a vase came flying at his head. It had been years since the Master had gone on one of his furniture smashing rampages.

"How could I have let this happen?" the Prince roared. "That ugly little rat! Worming his way into my household. Pretending to have no ulterior motive! I didn't want him here anyway. But no! He had changed, apparently! Belle's kindness almost killed her!"

"Master!"

"I'm not going to let this happen again! From now on, we thoroughly question everyone we hire!"

"Master, please calm down. You've already destroyed half of the things in this room."

A very loud piercing scream came from the next room. Étienne pounded on the door.

"Let me in! Let me in! My Belle needs me!"

Mrs Potts opened the door and glared at him.

"Please Master! We're almost there. Calm down."

"Let me see her. I want to know if she's alright."

"Master, this is women's business. She's fine."

Belle let out another anguished scream.

"She doesn't sound fi- Hey! Don't slam the door in my face!"

"Master, sit down and take some deep breaths," said Cogsworth, leading him away from the door.

Étienne sat down in his favourite chair and buried his face in his hands.

"Perhaps some brandy will calm you."

"Master!" Two servants burst into the room. "Master! He's escaped!"

"What!" Étienne stood up furiously. Fresh rage was building inside of him.

"We don't know what happened! We just went to check on him. The door was open and he was gone!"

"Why weren't you guarding him?" asked the Prince angrily. "You should have been watching him at all times! Don't just stand there! Go out and search for him!"

The Prince ripped the bottle of brandy from Cogsworth's grip and threw it at the wall. He let out a few expletives.

"Ugh! Why are my servants so incompetent?"

"Master, please do calm down," Cogsworth insisted, a little offended.

"Oh Master!" Mrs Potts opened the door with a giggle.

"What do you want?" Étienne screamed as he turned to face her.

"Master! Don't yell at me! Be a gentleman. That's a good boy."

"Sorry," he muttered.

"That's better!" Mrs Potts declared. "It's a girl. She has your eyes."

"A girl? Oh, Cogsworth!" he embraced his manservant. "Get the brandy!"

"Master, I don't want to anger you again, but you hurled it at the wall!"

* * *

><p>"Alright! I think we're safe now."<p>

Le Fou and Émilie slowed down to a stop and sat down to rest. They must have been running for at least an hour.

"What should we do now?" ask Émilie.

"I dunno. I guess we should keep walking until we find somewhere to stay."

"You're right. At least day is beginning to break," Émilie said, looking up into the sky. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>"Isn't she beautiful?" Belle gazed at her newborn daughter.<p>

"Uh-huh," Étienne breathed. "Can I hold her?"

"Of course! She looks just like you!"

Étienne's eyes widened suddenly. He anxiously started to fiddle with the baby's blankets.

"What are you doing?"

"Just checking that she doesn't have a tail. Or claws."

"Oh, Étienne. She's completely human."

"You're right. I'm just paranoid. What should we name her?"

"What about Rose?"

"What?" Étienne was aghast. "No! I don't want to name her after the very thing that tormented me for ten years. Every time I'd look at her I'd be reminded of the monster I used to be. How would you like it if we named her Gaston?"

"Sorry, dear. I just thought it was a nice name." Belle hadn't expected that outburst. "That was insensitive of me. Can I have her back now?"

Étienne carefully handed the baby back to his wife. As she nestled into Belle's arms, the baby opened her big blue eyes and gazed up at her mother. A fat little hand emerged from the blankets, grabbed one of Belle's long slender fingers and put it into her mouth.

"Isn't that sweet? She's sucking on my fing- Ouch!"

Belle quickly withdrew her finger. "She bit me!"

"That's ridiculous," Étienne scoffed. "She doesn't have any teeth yet."

"Hmm." Belle opened the baby's mouth and looked inside. There, nestled into the middle of her top gum, were two very small sharp teeth.

"I think I'll bottle feed her," Belle said, frowning.

"Master!" Two more servants burst into the room. "We still can't find him."

"Well keep looking! I want everyone out there searching for him. He's a danger to Belle and little Belle."

"Oh, Étienne! Give up. He knew he was wrong. Let him go," Belle said, smoothing down the small tuft of brown hair on her daughter's head.

"Belle, he almost killed you!"

"You're right. And as long as he doesn't come back, I'll be happy and safe. I don't think executing him will solve anything. Now, can you take the baby? I need a nap."

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue<strong>

Le Fou and Émilie travelled for days and days before they finally came across a pleasant little town, not unlike Le Fou's old village. They decided to settle down there. Le Fou got a job working at the local tavern, which was owned by a friendly old man and his three misfit sons. Émilie made money looking after the children of the village while their mothers were busy. Le Fou hopes that one day she will see him as more than just a friend, but knows that it won't be easy for her to learn to trust men again.

Belle and Étienne named their daughter after his grandmother. Étienne is thankful for this, as Belle had wanted to name her Cinderella Ophelia.

It took Cogsworth three days to clean up the mess the Prince had made. He bought three cases of brandy at a large town a few miles away. He took a fancy to the girl who sold it him. They courted for a few weeks, before he decided that he was married to his job and broke it off with her.

After accepting that Lumiere had chosen Babette, Fifi drowned her sorrows with alcohol down at Guillaume's tavern. She caught the eye of the proprietor, and they had a whirlwind romance and married quickly. Eventually the spark between them cooled and they bicker constantly.

Lucette, Lilette, and Laurette all became pregnant again. Lucette and Lilette both gave birth to twins on Christmas day. Laurette gave birth to quadruplets three days later. Their husbands are currently wondering what possessed them to move to that town in the first place.

The End


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